You May Have Diabetes Without Even Knowing It: Find Out!

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US gives out a very scary fact when it reports that a staggering 30 million Americans are currently fighting diabetes. However, what is even more shocking is that 25% of those people don’t even know that they have diabetes in the first place, which means they are not taking any precautionary measures to minimize the harm that is ultimately caused by the disease.

But even that is not the most concerning part. According to reports, 84 million people in the US are at a point that it can be said that they have what may be called pre-diabetes, which is a blood sugar level that is high enough to be dangerous, but not so high that it may be called diabetes. According to the CDC, 90% of such people have absolutely no idea that they have such an alarming blood sugar level.

A staggering 30 million Americans are currently fighting diabetes

What is Diabetes Again?

You probably have some idea of what diabetes is, and most likely believe that there are two types of diabetes, the type 1 and the type 2. However, there is also a third type of diabetes called gestational diabetes, which occurs in women who are pregnant although it normalizes after a woman gives birth, at least that is what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, or the NIDDK for short, professes.

The most common form of diabetes which people have is the diabetes type 2, which results from our body’s inability to control the blood sugar level due to its inability to properly utilize its natural insulin-making abilities. The type 1 is somewhat rare, as it happens to only 5% of people, and it is also very dangerous. Those with type 1 diabetes don’t have the ability to produce any insulin in the body, which means they must supplement their daily nutritional intake with insulin, either in a pill form or through an injection.

What Gets Measured is What Gets Managed

The above-mentioned concept may have been mentioned in the academic corridors of Harvard while discussing the management of businesses, but you can surely apply the same concept in any aspect of your life, especially when it comes to diabetes.

Don’t take diabetes lightly, as, if left un-managed, it can wreak havoc for your body in ways you can’t even imagine, such as lowering your bodies immunity to drastic levels or slowing down your body’s ability to heal from injuries, among many other complications that diabetes creates.

The most common form of diabetes which people have is the diabetes type 2, which results from our body’s inability to control the blood sugar level due to its inability to properly utilize its natural insulin-making abilities

So what should you do? While opting for a blood glucose checker that is available over-the-counter at most pharmacies seems like the easiest option, it is also not very useful if you have not already been diagnosed. The monitor will only tell you whether your blood sugar level is too high or too low, but that spike or drop in sugar levels could be temporary and due to other factors.

Instead, you need to look for the subtle signs which exist and which can tell you whether you have diabetes or not. Although a physician is the best person to make the final assessment about whether you do or do not have the disease, knowing these signs can help you become aware of a problem which you otherwise believed did not exist.

The Signs That Should Ring Alarm Bells

Peeing all the time in the winter months is somewhat fine as we do feel the need to pee whenever we feel cold. However, if it’s too frequent, then you may have a problem. Excessive peeing could be the result of your body excreting all that extra sugar in your blood. Of course, this would result in you becoming thirsty, and so if you are drinking too much water, even that could be a warning sign that you may be suffering from diabetes.

While opting for a blood glucose checker that is available over-the-counter at most pharmacies seems like the easiest option, it is also not very useful if you have not already been diagnosed

Since all this excessive urinating causes dehydration, you are likely to develop bad breath as well due to lack of spit in your mouth which otherwise washes away bacteria to balance out the mouth’s pH levels. Not only that, if your breath smells too sweet, that could be all the ketones being produced by the body due to its consumption of body fat instead of the glucose present in the blood for energy.

Apart from the above, blurry vision, a long time for injuries to heal, and fatigue are also some subtle warning signals that you should remain alert about, just in case.